Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes. ~Bertolt Brecht
We all know that television heroes aren’t the real deal. But when I was a kid, there were many characters who–at least on screen–represented the best in human behavior. This post is a salute to a few of my favorites. Yes, in my unplugged childhood, I often played outside, but sometimes I parked myself in front of our small screen, waiting to be drawn into another world.
Marshall Matt Dillon (James Arness)
We watched Gunsmoke every week in our house. Somehow, Miss Kitty’s Long Branch Saloon wasn’t offensive even though we had a teetotaling household. We just knew they were drinking tea, not whiskey, and Marshall Dillon, Chester or Festus always showed up to keep order. Miss Kitty displayed dignity and wisdom and she may have helped the Marshall solve crimes. I don’t remember for sure, but I do think Doc occasionally assisted.
Dennis Weaver (Dennis Weaver) and Arness were fast friends on and off screen for decades, according to the Larrivee Forum. Here are other fun facts about cast members from IMDB trivia:
- Though Chester walked with a limp, it was the Marshall who sustained serious injuries during WWII, in Anzio. Machine gun fire badly damaged his leg and left him with a limp.
- Chester wasn’t officially a deputy, he was simply designated as a helper.
- Miss Kitty, Amanda Blake, worked as a telephone operator before joining the Gunsmoke cast.
Roy Rogers (Leonard Franklin Slye)
Roy Rogers ranked close to the top of my cowboy rankings. My memory might be faulty, but I recall he was smiling and happy most of the time. He and Dale Evans worked together in blissful harmony to resolve issues between homesteaders and cattlemen, and consistently delivered wholesome messages. The Cowboy Channel tells us there were only six seasons, but they finished up with 105 episodes. Back then, they didn’t film 6 episodes and call it good enough for a whole season. Dale wrote the song they sang together as the credits rolled, “Happy Trails to You”.
Trigger, Roy’s horse, had classic Palomino features and a just-groomed appearance. I have to admit I don’t remember the dog, Bullet. Did he rescue people out of abandoned mines or something? What was his role?
On to some obscure facts about “Roy” and Dale, also from IMDB Trivia.*
- Roy had no input on his stage name. The studio selected “Rogers” after the recently deceased Will Rogers, and Roy from the French word for King. Roy was, after all, the King of the Cowboys.
- Dale and Roy had 9 children between them, counting the steps and 4 adopted children.
- Trigger often received 2nd billing in the credits ahead of Dale.
Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller)
Back in the tween years, I planted myself in front of the television on Saturday afternoons, hoping the feature movie would be Tarzan. I suspect if I watched that series now, I’d spot inconsistencies, oversimplified plots, and less-than-stellar sets. Then, though, I was mesmerized by the treehouse, the gigantic ostrich eggs, and Cheeta, the chimpanzee sidekick. Tarzan and Jane’s ingenuity in dealing with limited resources and non-existent conveniences was mind-boggling.
Tarzan was protective of Jane, and while she appeared comfortable living in their unorthodox open-plan conditions, I do recall her cautioning him about danger–for him, for her, and for Boy. But she always looked beautiful. No mirror. No makeup. No hairstyling tools. Amazing.
It’s true I criticized the sets, but THEN it seemed like I was seeing the jungle. For real. And that was on a black & white set. The tribe of Amazon women wore jewels and elaborate costumes; the alligators only munched on the bad guys, and the vines never broke as Tarzan and Jane swung from one tree to the next. Totally unbelievable yet entirely engaging.
Here are some things you might not know about the Tarzan cast:
- During the Cuban revolution, Weismuller was playing golf with some friends when Castro’s soldiers surrounded them. Fearing the worst, Mr. Weismuller belted out his trademark yell. The soldiers recognized that sound and were delighted to escort “Tarzan” and his friends to a safe area. Where in Cuba that would have been, I know not.
- Maureen O’Sullivan hated working with Cheeta. If this weren’t a G-rated blog post I’d tell you what she called him when not on set.
- Cheeta lived to be 80 years old. (Ronald Tanner site)
'Til we meet again
I can’t live in the 50s anymore, but it’s fun to visit that era. When I go there, I don’t think about drills to “duck and cover” under our school desks to protect ourselves from Cold War aggressors. Not like cowering under a desk would have done any good, but we didn’t question the process. No, when I think of the 50s and 60s, I remember my 4th-grade teacher reading to us after lunch and selecting titles from the Scholastic Books order form. Fun stuff, not gloom and doom prep.
Practically speaking, everything wasn’t rosy 60+ years ago, though. Some of us (I was one) didn’t have air conditioning at home or at school. We had minimal input on the meal planning; we ate what was in front of us or nothing at all. If we wanted to listen to music, we selected a 45 or 70 from whatever vinyl our parents had purchased. Ever heard of “Last Date” by Floyd Cramer? Great song, but probably not every 8-year-old was familiar with that particular artist. Or maybe they were. Our options were limited at home and at school.
I could be way off, but I think the limitations placed by our parents as well as the limited TV options (we had four channels) made life less complicated, perhaps less stressful. Our television heroes reflected a clear delineation between good and bad – cowboys fighting the bad guys and Tarzan trying to hold the line against evil treasure hunters. They made it easy to know who to root for.
We could use more of that.
I marvel now at the quantity of television I watched as a child in the 60’s and early 70s; I had the TV Guide memorized. I think I turned out all right; it makes me wonder about the true, long lasting impact on children of watching copious quantities of benign TV programs. More research is needed on my part. Problem seems to be finding benign TV programs for kids; there’s so much out there that kids are watching that’s not appropriate for their growing minds.
I watched a lot on Saturdays, but I don’t remember watching at night except with the family – not until I was a teenager. Also, we were outside much of the time when weather permitted, and television wasn’t the go-to when I had friends over. We played board games and used a chalkboard to play hangman and other word games. So we did have screen time, but not nearly as much as youngsters get now, in my opinion.
Great article. I go so far back my reply will seem outdated (97 years) we had no electricity until i was grown and leaving home. Victrola with a record I remember singing about the sinking of the Titanic. Neat the way you mentioned the Vines -Tarzan’s transportation not breaking. My very young children had to go next door or across the street to watch TV until we finally got on. Very good blog.
I enjoyed writing it, and I’m glad you enjoyed reading it!
I do remember Gunsmoke on Saturday nights. We sometimes had popcorn. I do not remember that the ratings dropped in the 60s and they moved it to Monday nights and the ratings went back up. A lot of folks on Dungan had TVs before we did. I knew who they were and on Saturday mornings would go knocking on doors until someone would let me in. I guess I was older before I got reserved and bashful.
That must be it. Definitely.
Thanks for the memories, Gayle. How I loved those shows and watching them with my father who grew up on a Montana ranch.
I didn’t know that about your dad. Sounds like it could be a spark for a book. 😉
My favorite show was Sugarfoot. But I watched all the others you have mentioned. Thanks for the memories.
I am not familiar with Sugarfoot. You’ll have to fill me in sometime!